Transparent conductive coating for capacitive touch panel with silver having increased resistivity

ABSTRACT

A multi-layer conductive coating is substantially transparent to visible light, contains at least one conductive layer comprising silver that is sandwiched between at least a pair of dielectric layers, and may be used as an electrode and/or conductive trace in a capacitive touch panel. The multi-layer conductive coating may contain a dielectric layer of or including zirconium oxide (e.g., ZrO 2 ) and/or silicon nitride, and may be used in applications such as capacitive touch panels for controlling showers, appliances, vending machines, electronics, electronic devices, and/or the like. The coating may have increased resistivity, and thus reduced conductivity, compared to pure silver layers of certain coatings, in order to allow the silver-based coating to be more suitable for use as touch panel electrode(s).

This application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. Ser. No.15/678,266, filed Aug. 16, 2017, which is a continuation-in-part (CIP)of U.S. Ser. No. 15/647,541 filed Jul. 12, 2017, which is a continuationof U.S. Ser. No. 15/215,908 filed Jul. 21, 2016 (U.S. Pat. No.9,733,779), which is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. Ser. No.15/146,270 filed May 4, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.13/685,871 filed Nov. 27, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,354,755), thedisclosures of which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties. This application is also a continuation-in-part (CIP)of U.S. Ser. No. 15/678,266, filed Aug. 16, 2017, which is acontinuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. Ser. No. 15/409,658 filed Jan. 19,2017, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 14/681,266 filed Apr. 8,2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,557,871), the disclosures of which are allhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Example embodiments of this invention relate to a multi-layer conductivecoating that is substantially transparent to visible light, contains atleast one conductive layer comprising silver that is sandwiched betweenat least a pair of dielectric layers, and may be used as an electrodeand/or conductive trace in a capacitive touch panel. The multi-layerconductive coating may contain a layer of or including zirconium oxide(e.g., ZrO₂) and/or silicon nitride in certain embodiments, and may beused in applications such as capacitive touch panels for controllingshowers, appliances, vending machines, electronics, electronic devices,and/or the like. The layer of or including zirconium oxide may beprovided for improving durability in touch panel applications. Incertain example embodiments, the coating includes a silver layer(s) andmay be used as an electrode(s) in a capacitive touch panel so as toprovide for an electrode(s) transparent to visible light but withoutmuch visibility due to the more closely matching visible reflection ofthe coating on the substrate to that of an underlying substrate in areaswhere the coating is not present. The coating also has improvedconductivity (e.g., smaller sheet resistance R_(s) or smalleremissivity, given a similar thickness and/or cost of deposition)compared to typical ITO coatings used in touch panels. In certainexample embodiments, the coating may have increased resistivity, andthus reduced conductivity, compared to pure silver layers of certaincoatings, in order to allow the silver-based coating to be more suitablefor use as touch panel electrodes.

BACKGROUND

A capacitive touch panel often includes an insulator such as glass,coated with a conductive coating. As the human body is also anelectrical conductor, touching the surface of the panel results in adistortion of the panel's electrostatic field, measurable as a change incapacitance for example. A transparent touch panel may be combined witha display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or LED panel to form atouchscreen. A projected capacitive (PROCAP) touch panel, which mayoptionally include an LCD or other display, allows finger or othertouches to be sensed through a protective layer(s) in front of theconductive coating.

FIGS. 1(a) to 1(g) illustrate an example of a related art projectedcapacitive touch panel, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 8,138,425 the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Referring to FIG.1(a), substrate 11, x-axis conductor 12 for rows, insulator 13, y-axisconductor 14 for columns, and conductive traces 15 are provided.Substrate 11 may be a transparent material such as glass. X-axisconductors 12 and y-axis conductors 14 are typically indium tin oxide(ITO) which is a transparent conductor. Insulator 13 may be aninsulating material (for example, silicon nitride) which inhibitsconductivity between x-axis conductors 12 and y-axis conductors 14.Traces 15 provide electrical conductivity between the plurality ofconductors and a signal processor (not shown). ITO used forelectrodes/traces in small PROCAP touch panels typically has a sheetresistance of at least about 100 ohms/square, which has been found to betoo high for certain applications. Moreover, conventional ITO coatingsfor touch panels are typically highly crystalline and relatively thickand brittle, and thus in applications involving bending such ITOcoatings are subject to failure.

Referring to FIG. 1(b), x-axis conductor 12 (e.g., ITO) is formed onsubstrate 11. The ITO is coated in a continuous layer on substrate 11and then is subjected to a first photolithography process in order topattern the ITO into x-axis conductors 12. FIG. 1(c) illustrates crosssection A-A′ of FIG. 1(b), including x-axis conductor 12 formed onsubstrate 11. Referring to FIG. 1(d), insulator 13 is then formed on thesubstrate 11 over x-axis channel(s) of x-axis conductor 12. FIG. 1(e)illustrates cross section B-B′ of FIG. 1(d), including insulator 13which is formed on substrate 11 and x-axis conductor 12. The insulatorislands 13 shown in FIGS. 1(d)-(e) are formed by depositing a continuouslayer of insulating material (e.g., silicon nitride) on the substrate 11over the conductors 12, and then subjecting the insulating material to asecond photolithography, etching, or other patterning process in orderto pattern the insulating material into islands 13. Referring to FIG.1(f), y-axis conductors 14 are then formed on the substrate over theinsulator islands 13 and x-axis conductors 12. The ITO for y-axisconductors 14 is coated on substrate 11 over 12, 13, and then issubjected to a third photolithography or other patterning process inorder to pattern the ITO into y-axis conductors 14. While much of y-axisconductor material 14 is formed directly on substrate 11, the y-axischannel is formed on insulator 13 to inhibit conductivity between x-axisconductors 12 and y-axis conductors 14. FIG. 1(g) illustrates crosssection C-C′ of FIG. 1(f), including part of an ITO y-axis conductor 14,which is formed on the substrate 11 over insulative island 13 and overan example ITO x-axis conductor 12. It will be appreciated that theprocess of manufacturing the structure shown in FIGS. 1(a)-(g) requiresthree separate and distinct deposition steps and three photolithographytype processes, which renders the process of manufacture burdensome,inefficient, and costly.

FIG. 1(h) illustrates another example of an intersection of ITO x-axisconductor 12 and ITO y-axis conductor 14 according to a related artprojected capacitive touch panel. Referring to FIG. 1(h), an ITO layeris formed on the substrate 11 and can then be patterned into x-axisconductors 12 and y-axis conductors 14 in a first photolithographyprocess. Then, an insulating layer is formed on the substrate and ispatterned into insulator islands 13 in a second photolithography oretching process. Then, a conductive layer is formed on the substrate 11over 12-14 and is patterned into conductive bridges 16 in a thirdphotolithography process. Bridge 16 provides electrical conductivity fora y-axis conductor 14 over an x-axis conductor 12. Again, this processof manufacture requires at least three deposition steps and at leastthree different photolithography processes.

The projected capacitive touch panels illustrated in FIGS. 1(a) through1(h) may be mutual capacitive devices or self-capacitive devices. In amutual capacitive device, there is a capacitor at every intersectionbetween an x-axis conductor 12 and a y-axis conductor 14 (or metalbridge 16). A voltage is applied to x-axis conductors 12 while thevoltage of y-axis conductors 14 is measured (and/or vice versa). When auser brings a finger or conductive stylus close to the surface of thedevice, changes in the local electrostatic field reduce the mutualcapacitance. The capacitance change at every individual point on thegrid can be measured to accurately determine the touch location. In aself-capacitive device, the x-axis conductors 12 and y-axis conductors14 operate essentially independently. With self-capacitance, thecapacitive load of a finger or the like is measured on each x-axisconductor 12 and y-axis conductor 14 by a current meter.

As described above, prior art transparent conductors 12 and 14 in touchpanels are typically indium tin oxide (ITO), which is problematic for anumber of reasons. First, ITO is costly. Second, thin layers of ITO havea high sheet resistance Rs (typically at least about 100 ohms/square);in other words the conductivity of ITO is not particularly good and itsresistivity is high. In order for an ITO layer to have a much lowersheet resistance, the ITO layer must be extremely thick (for example,greater than 300 or 400 nm). However, such a thick layer of ITO is bothprohibitively expensive and less transparent. Thus, the high sheetresistance of thin layers of ITO limits their use in layouts requiringlong narrow traces on touch panels, with an emphasis on large panels.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that there exists a need in the artfor touch panel electrodes that are of material which does not sufferfrom the ITO disadvantage combination of high cost and low conductivityat small thicknesses.

SUMMARY OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments of this invention relate to a multi-layer conductivecoating that is substantially transparent to visible light, contains atleast one conductive layer comprising silver that is sandwiched betweenat least a pair of dielectric layers, and may be used as an electrodeand/or conductive trace in a capacitive touch panel. The multi-layerconductive coating may contain a layer of or including zirconium oxide(e.g., ZrO₂) and/or silicon nitride in certain embodiments, and may beused in applications such as capacitive touch panels for controllingshowers, appliances, vending machines, electronics, electronic devices,and/or the like. The coating has improved conductivity (e.g., smallersheet resistance R_(s) or smaller emissivity, given a similar thicknessand/or cost of deposition ) compared to typical ITO coatings used intouch panels. The coating may be used as electrode layers and/or tracesin capacitive touch panels such as PROCAP touch panel or any other typeof touch panel.

In certain example embodiments, the coating may have increasedresistivity, and thus reduced conductivity, compared to pure silverlayers of certain coatings, in order to allow the silver-based coatingto be more suitable for touch panel electrode applications. Theincreased resistivity, and reduced conductivity, of the silver layer(s)in the coating may be achieved by any of several techniques. Forexample, the increased resistivity, and reduced conductivity, of thesilver layer(s) in the coating may be achieved by doping with silverwith an impurity such as one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, Al or the like,and/or by replacing crystalline zinc oxide directly under and contactingthe silver with another material such as a suitable non-crystallinedielectric, amorphous semiconductor, or metal alloy (e.g., NiCr) inorder to increase the silver's resistivity.

In an example embodiment of this invention, there is provided acapacitive touch panel, comprising: a glass substrate; a multi-layertransparent conductive coating supported by the glass substrate, themulti-layer transparent conductive coating including at least oneconductive layer comprising silver, a dielectric layer located betweenat least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver,and a dielectric layer comprising one or more of: zirconium oxide,silicon nitride, and tin oxide located over the conductive layercomprising silver; a plurality of electrodes and a plurality ofconductive traces, wherein the electrodes and/or the conductive tracesinclude the multi-layer transparent conductive coating; and processorconfigured for determining touch position on the touch panel; whereinthe plurality of electrodes may or may not be formed substantially in acommon plane, and are supported by the glass substrate.

The conductive layer comprising silver may be doped. For example, theconductive layer comprising silver may be doped with from about 0.05 to3.0% (wt. % ) [more preferably from 0.1 to 2.0%, and most preferablyfrom 0.1 to 0.5%] of one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, and Al.

The multi-layer transparent conductive coating may further include: (a)a layer comprising Ni and Cr (or Ni, Cr and Mo) that contacts the layercomprising silver, wherein the layer comprising Ni and Cr (or Ni, Cr andMo) may be located between at least the glass substrate and theconductive layer comprising silver, (b) a semiconductor layer thatcontacts the layer comprising silver, wherein the semiconductor layer islocated between at least the glass substrate and the conductive layercomprising silver, or (c) a substantially amorphous dielectric layercomprising one or more of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, and titanium oxide that contacts the layer comprisingsilver, wherein the substantially amorphous dielectric layer is locatedbetween at least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprisingsilver.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(a) to 1(h) illustrate examples of prior art projected capacitivetouch panels.

FIG. 2(a) illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a projectedcapacitive touch panel according to an exemplary embodiment, that maycontain the coating(s) of FIGS. 4, 6, 7, and/or 8 as conductiveelectrode(s) and/or conductive trace(s).

FIG. 2(b) illustrates a schematic representation of circuitry for theprojected capacitive touch panel of FIGS. 2(a), 3, 9, and/or 10.

FIG. 3(a) illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a projectedcapacitive touch panel according to another example embodiment, that maycontain the coating(s) of FIGS. 4, 6, 7, and/or 8 as conductiveelectrode(s) and/or conductive trace(s).

FIG. 3(b) illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a projectedcapacitive touch panel electrode arrangement according to anotherexample embodiment, that may contain the coating(s) of FIGS. 4, 6, 7,and/or 8 as conductive electrode(s) and/or conductive trace(s).

FIG. 3(c) illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a projectedcapacitive touch panel electrode arrangement according to anotherexample embodiment, that may contain the coating(s) of FIGS. 4, 6, 7,and/or 8 as conductive electrode(s) and/or conductive trace(s).

FIGS. 4(a)-4(g) are cross-sectional views of various silver-inclusivetransparent conductive coatings for use in a touch panel of FIGS. 2, 3,7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and/or 14 according to exemplary embodiments ofthis invention.

FIG. 5 is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs. wavelength (nm)graph illustrating the visible transmission (TR) percentage and glassside visible reflection (BRA) percentage of a Comparative Example (CE)coating on a glass substrate, compared to those values for the glasssubstrate alone (Glass-TR, Glass-BRA).

FIG. 6 is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs. wavelength (nm)graph illustrating the visible transmission (TR) and glass side visiblereflection (BRA) of an example coating of FIG. 4(a) according to anexample embodiment of this invention on a glass substrate, demonstratingthat it is transparent to visible light and has glass side visiblereflectance more closely matched to that of the glass substrate comparedto the CE in FIG. 5. FIG. 6, like FIG. 5, also illustrates the visibletransmission (Glass-TR) and visible reflectance (Glass-BRA) for theglass substrate alone without the coating on it.

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of a touch panel assembly according toan example embodiment of this invention, including a touch panelaccording to any of FIGS. 2-4, 6, 8-10 coupled to a liquid crystalpanel, for use in electronic devices such as portable phones, portablepads, computers, and/or so forth.

FIG. 8(a) is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs. wavelength(nm) graph illustrating the visible transmission (CGN-TR or TR) andglass side visible reflection (CGN-BRA or BRA) of an example coating ofFIG. 4(b) according to another example embodiment of this invention,demonstrating that it is transparent to visible light and has a glassside visible reflectance more closely matched to the reflectance of theglass substrate alone compared to the CE. FIG. 8(a) also illustrates thevisible transmission (Glass-TR) and visible reflectance (Glass-BRA) forjust the glass substrate absent the coating.

FIG. 8(b) is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs. wavelength(nm) graph illustrating the visible transmission (CGN-TR or TR) andglass side visible reflection (CGN-BRA or BRA) of an example coating ofFIG. 4(c) according to another example embodiment of this invention,demonstrating that it is transparent to visible light and has a glassside visible reflectance more closely matched to the reflectance of thesubstrate compared to the CE.

FIG. 9 illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a low resolutioncapacitive touch panel according to another example embodiment, that maycontain the coating(s) of FIGS. 4, 6, 7, 8 as conductive electrode(s)and/or conductive trace(s).

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of a low resolution capacitive touchpanel according to another example embodiment where the substratesupporting the coating of this invention of FIG. 9 may be laminated toanother substrate (e.g., glass) via a polymer inclusive interlayer suchas PVB or EVA.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a process for making the transparentconductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, or10 according to an example embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a process for making the transparentconductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, or10 according to another example embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a process for making the transparentconductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, or10 according to another example embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of a process for making the transparentconductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, or10 according to another example embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view of a capacitive touch panel accordingto an example embodiment of this invention, including the transparentconductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, or10 on surface #2, and an additional functional film provided on thesurface adapted to be touched by a user.

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of a capacitive touch panel accordingto another example embodiment of this invention, including thetransparent conductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4,7, 8, 9, or 10 on surface #3, and an additional functional film providedon the surface adapted to be touched by a user.

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of a monolithic capacitive touch panelaccording to another example embodiment of this invention, including thetransparent conductive coating pattern according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4,7, 8, 9, or 10 on surface #2, and an additional functional film providedon the surface adapted to be touched by a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A detailed description of exemplary embodiments is provided withreference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals indicatelike parts throughout the drawings.

Example embodiments of this invention relate to a multi-layer conductivecoating 41 that is substantially transparent to visible light, containsat least one conductive layer comprising silver 46 that is sandwichedbetween at least a pair of layers such as dielectric layers, and may beused as an electrode and/or conductive trace in a capacitive touchpanel. Example multi-layer transparent conductive coatings 41 are shownin FIGS. 4(a)-(g). The multi-layer conductive coating 41 may contain alayer of or including zirconium oxide (e.g., ZrO₂) 75 in certainembodiments, and may be used in applications such as capacitive touchpanels for controlling showers (e.g., water on/off control, watertemperature control, and/or steam control), appliances, vendingmachines, music control, thermostat control, electronics, electronicdevices, and/or the like. The layer of or including zirconium oxide 75may be provided for improving durability in touch panel applications.The zirconium oxide and/or DLC layers discussed herein provide forscratch resistance, and resistance to stains and cleaning chemicals inapplications such as shower door/wall touch panel applications. Incertain example embodiments, the coating includes a silver layer(s) 46and may be used as an electrode(s) and/or conductive trace(s) in acapacitive touch panel so as to provide for an electrode(s) transparentto visible light but without much visibility due to closely matchingvisible reflection of the coating on the substrate to that of anunderlying substrate in areas where the coating is not present. Thecoating 41 has improved conductivity (e.g., smaller sheet resistanceR_(s) or smaller emissivity, given a similar thickness and/or cost ofdeposition) compared to typical ITO coatings used in touch panels. Thecoating may be used as electrode layers and/or traces in capacitivetouch panels such as PROCAP touch panels or any other type of touchpanel. The touch panels discussed herein, including the electrodes andtraces of the multi-layer coating 41, preferably have a visibletransmission (Ill. A, 2 deg. Obs.) of at least 50%, more preferably ofat least 60%, and most preferably of at least 70%.

In certain example embodiments, coating 41 may have increasedresistivity, and thus reduced conductivity, compared to pure silverlayers of certain coatings, in order to allow the silver-based coatingto be more suitable for touch panel electrode applications. Theincreased resistivity, and reduced conductivity, of the silver layer(s)46 in the coating 41 may be achieved by any of several techniques. Forexample, the increased resistivity, and reduced conductivity, of thesilver layer(s) 46 in the coating may be achieved by doping with silverwith an impurity such as one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, Al or the like.For example, the silver layer 46 of any of FIGS. 4(a)-4(g) may be dopedwith from about 0.05 to 3.0%, more preferably from about 0.1 to 2.0%,and most preferably from about 0.1 to 0.5% (wt. %), of one or more ofZn, Pt, Pd, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof. The increased resistivity,and reduced conductivity, of the silver layer(s) 46 may also or insteadbe achieved by replacing crystalline zinc oxide 44 directly under andcontacting the silver with another material such as a suitablenon-crystalline dielectric, amorphous semiconductor, or metal alloy(e.g., NiCr, NiCrMo, etc.) in order to increase the silver's resistivity(e.g., see the NiCr based layer under the silver in FIG. 4(f)). Theincreased resistivity, and reduced conductivity, of the silver basedlayer(s) 46 may be achieved by, for example, one or both of: (a) dopingthe silver, and/or (b) replacing crystalline zinc oxide 44 directlyunder the silver with a suitable non-crystalline dielectric, amorphoussemiconductor, or metal alloy.

In certain example embodiments of this invention, there is provided acapacitive touch panel that includes a glass substrate 40; a multi-layertransparent conductive coating 41 supported by the glass substrate 40.The multi-layer transparent conductive coating 41 may include at leastone conductive layer comprising silver 46, a dielectric layer under theconductive layer comprising silver 46, and a dielectric layer comprisingone or more of silicon nitride 50, tin oxide 49, titanium oxide 48,NiCrO_(x) 47 and/or zirconium oxide 75 over the conductive layercomprising silver 46, a plurality of electrodes and a plurality ofconductive traces, wherein the electrodes and/or the conductive tracesof the touch panel are made of the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating 41. A processor (including processing circuitry ) may beprovided for detecting touch position on the touch panel; wherein theelectrodes, and the conductive traces may be formed substantially in acommon plane substantially parallel to the glass substrate 40, and aplurality of the electrodes are electrically connected to the processorby conductive traces. The glass substrate may be heat treated (e.g.,thermally tempered ). Increased resistivity, and reduced conductivity,of the silver in coating 41 compared to pure silver in certain coatingsmay be achieved by, for example, one or both of: (a) doping theconductive silver layer 46 with an impurity such as one or more of Zn,Pt, Pd, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof, and/or (b) replacingcrystalline zinc oxide directly under the conductive silver 46 with asuitable non-crystalline dielectric [e.g., silicon oxide (e.g., SiO₂),silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄), titanium oxide (e.g.,TiO₂), or zinc stannate], amorphous semiconductor (e.g., a-Si), or metalalloy (e.g., NiCr, NiCrMo, or the like ).

The multi-layer transparent conductive coating 41 (and thus silver basedlayer 46 in certain example embodiments ) may have a sheet resistance(R_(s)) of less than or equal to about 40 ohms/square, more preferablyless than or equal to about 20 ohms/square, more preferably less than orequal to about 15 ohms/square, and most preferably less than or equal toabout 10 ohms/square. The multi-layer transparent conductive coating 41,and thus silver based layer 46, may have a resistivity of from 30×10⁻⁷to 90×10⁻⁷ Ω·cm, more preferably from 40×10⁻⁷ to 80×10⁻⁷ Ω·cm (ohm·cm ).

FIG. 2(a) illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a projectedcapacitive touch panel according to an exemplary embodiment, that maycontain the multi-layer conductive transparent coating 41 of FIGS. 4, 6,7, and/or 8 as conductive electrode(s) x, y and/or conductive trace(s)22. Referring to FIG. 2(a), touch panel 20 is provided. Touch panel 20includes a matrix of electrodes x, y including n columns and m rows,provided on a substrate 40 such as a glass substrate. The glasssubstrates may also include an antireflective (AR ) layer in certainexample embodiments. The matrix of row/column electrodes x, y may beprovided on the side of the substrate (e.g., glass substrate 40) that isopposite the side touched by person(s) using the touch panel, in orderto prevent corrosion of the silver-based coating 41 by human fingertouches. In other words, when the touch panel is touched by a finger,stylus, or the like, the glass substrate 40 is typically located between(a) the finger and (b) the matrix of row/column electrodes x, y andconductive traces 22. However, in certain embodiments the matrix ofrow/column electrodes x, y and traces may be provided on the side of thesubstrate (e.g., glass substrate 40) that is touched by person(s) usingthe touch panel, such as in shower door application, glass wallapplications, and/or the like, for example in situations where only oneglass substrate is provided. Change in capacitance between adjacent rowand column electrodes in the matrix as a result of the proximity of afinger or the like is sensed by the electronic circuitry, and theconnected circuitry can thus detect where the panel is being touched bya finger or the like. For example, referring to FIG. 2(a), row 0includes row electrodes x_(0,0), x_(1,0), x_(2,0), etc., through x_(n,0)and columns 0, 1 and 2 respectively include column electrodes y₀, y₁,y₂, etc., through y_(n). Optionally, the x electrodes in a columndirection may also be grouped for column sensing. The number of row andcolumn electrodes is determined by the size and resolution of the touchpanel. In this example, the top-right row electrode is x_(n,m). Each rowelectrode x_(0,0)-x_(n,m) of touch panel 20 is electrically connected tointerconnect area 21 and corresponding processing circuitry/software bya conductive trace 22. Each column electrode y₀-y_(n) is alsoelectrically connected to interconnect area 21 and correspondingprocessing circuitry/software, either directly or by a conductive trace.The conductive traces 22 are preferably formed of the same transparentconductive material (multilayer conductive transparent coating 41) asthe row and column electrodes (e.g., same material as at least rowelectrodes x_(0,0), x_(1,0), x_(2,0), etc.). Thus, in certain exampleembodiments, the matrix of row and column electrodes x, y andcorresponding traces 22 can be formed on the substrate (e.g., glasssubstrate) 40 by forming the coating 41 (e.g., by sputter-depositing thecoating 41) on the substrate 40 and by performing only one (or maximumtwo) photolithography and/or other patterning process in order topattern the coating 41 into the conductive electrodes x, y and/orconductive traces 22. In certain example embodiments, thesilver-inclusive coating (e.g., see example coating 41 in FIGS.4(a)-(g)) is sputter deposited on the glass substrate 40 and is thensubjected to photolithography and/or laser patterning to pattern thesilver-inclusive coating 41 into traces 22, row electrodes x_(0,0),x_(1,0), x_(2,0), x_(0,1), x,_(0,2), x_(0,3), etc. through x_(n,m), andcolumn electrodes y₀-y_(n). Because the row electrodes x_(0,0)-x_(n,m),column electrodes y₀-y_(n), and traces 22 do not overlap as viewed fromabove/below, the row electrodes x_(0,0)-x_(n,m), column electrodesy₀-y_(n), and traces 22 may be formed on the same plane parallel (orsubstantially parallel) to glass substrate 40 on which the electrodesand traces are formed. And no insulating layer between electrodes x andy is needed in certain example embodiments. Significant portions oftraces 22 may also be parallel (or substantially parallel) to the columnelectrodes in the plane parallel (or substantially parallel) to thesubstrate 40. Accordingly, touch panel 20 may be made via a smallernumber of photolithography or laser patterning steps while achievingtraces that achieve sufficient transparency and conductivity, therebyreducing production costs and resulting in a more efficient touch panelfor use in a display assembly or the like.

FIG. 2(b) illustrates a schematic representation of circuitry for thetouch panel 20 illustrated in FIG. 2(a), according to exemplaryembodiments. In touch panel 20, there is a capacitance between each rowelectrode and the adjacent column electrode (for example, between rowelectrode x_(0,0) and column electrode y₀). This capacitance can bemeasured by applying a voltage to a column electrode (for example,column electrode y₀) and measuring the voltage of an adjacent rowelectrode (for example, row electrode x_(0,0)). When a user brings afinger or conductive stylus close to touch panel 20, changes in thelocal electrostatic field reduce the mutual capacitance. The capacitancechange at individual points on the surface can be measured by measuringeach pair of row electrodes and column electrodes in sequence. Thetraces 22 of each row electrode in the same row (for example, the traces22 of row electrodes x_(0,0), x_(1,0), x_(2,0), etc., through x_(n,0) ofrow 0) may be electrically connected together (as shown in FIG. 2(b)).The interconnection of the first row segments to each other, second rowsegments to each other, etc., may be made on a flexible circuit(s)attached at the periphery of the touch panel in the interconnectionarea, so that no cross-overs are needed on the glass substrate 40. Inthat instance, a voltage is applied to a column electrode and thevoltage of each row is measured in sequence before the process isrepeated with a voltage applied to another column. Alternatively, eachtrace 22 may be connected to signal processor 25 and the voltage of eachtrace 22 may be measured individually. The same capacitance may bemeasured by applying a voltage to a row electrode and measuring thevoltage on an adjacent column electrode rather than applying a voltageto a column electrode and measuring the voltage of an adjacent rowelectrode. Signal processing (for example, applying and measuringvoltages, measuring the capacitance between adjacent electrodes,measuring changes in capacitance over time, outputting signals inresponse to user inputs, etc.) may be performed by signal processor 25.Signal processor 25 may be one or more hardware processors, may includevolatile or non-volatile memory, and may include computer-readableinstructions for executing the signal processing. Signal processor 25 iselectrically connected to the column electrodes y₀-y_(n) andelectrically connected to the row electrodes x_(0,0)-x_(0,0), throughthe traces 22. Signal processor 25 may or may not be located on the sameplane as row electrodes x_(0,0)-x_(n,m), column electrodes y₀-y_(n), andtraces 22 (for example, in interconnect area 21 of FIG. 2(a)).

FIG. 3(a) illustrates a top or bottom plan layout of a projectedcapacitive touch panel according to another example embodiment, thatincludes the coating 41 of any of FIGS. 4(a)-(g), 6, 7, and/or 8patterned to form the conductive electrode(s) x, y and/or conductivetrace(s) 22. Referring to FIG. 3(a), touch panel 30 is similar to touchpanel 20 of FIG. 2(a), except that touch panel 30 is divided into uppersection 31 and lower section 32, each of which includes a matrix ofelectrodes x, y including n columns and m rows. For example, row 0 ofupper section 31 includes row electrodes x_(0,0), x_(1,0), x_(2,0),etc., through x_(n,0). Upper section 31 also includes column electrodesy₀, y₁, y₂, etc., through y_(n). Likewise, lower section 32 would alsoinclude row electrodes, and column electrodes y₀-y_(n) that may beelectrically separate from the column electrodes y₀-y_(n) of the uppersection 31. Thus, lower section 32 also includes a matrix of rowelectrodes including n columns and m rows, and n column electrodes.Lower section 32 may have more or less rows than upper section 31 indifferent example embodiments. The number of row and column electrodesof touch panel 30 is determined by the size and resolution of the touchpanel. Each column electrode of upper section 31 is electricallyconnected to interconnect area 21, and each row electrode of uppersection 31 is electrically connected to interconnect area 21 by a trace22. As with the FIG. 2 embodiment, traces may or may not be used forconnecting the column electrodes of upper section 31 to the interconnectarea. Each column electrode of lower section 32 is electricallyconnected to interconnect area 21′ and each row electrode of lowersection 32 is electrically connected to interconnect area 21′ by a trace22. Again, traces may or may not be used for connecting the columnelectrodes of the lower section 32 to the interconnect area 21′. Stillreferring to FIG. 3(a), touch panel 30 is similar to touch panel 20 inthat there is a capacitance between each row electrode and the adjacentcolumn electrode which may be measured by applying a voltage to a columnelectrode and measuring the voltage of an adjacent row electrode (or,alternatively, by applying a voltage to a row electrode and measuringthe voltage of an adjacent column electrode). When a user brings afinger or conductive stylus close to touch panel 30, changes in thelocal electrostatic field reduce the mutual capacitance. The capacitancechange at individual points on the surface can be measured by measuringthe mutual capacitance of each pair of row electrodes and columnelectrodes in sequence.

FIGS. 3(b) and 3(c) illustrate top or bottom plan layouts of a portionof a projected capacitive touch panel according to further exampleembodiments, that includes the coating 41 of any of FIGS. 4(a)-(g), 6,7, and/or 8 patterned to form the conductive electrode(s) x, y and/orconductive trace(s) 22. An example electrode configuration of a pro-capsensor may utilize a single transparent conductive coating 41 patternedinto the form of parallel electrode stripes as shown in either FIG. 3(b)of FIG. 3(c). In FIG. 3(b), the electrodes stripes are fairly straight,while in FIG. 3(c) one or more of the electrode stripes may have azig-zag shape. These electrode stripes correspond to the alternatingreceiving (R) and transmitting (T) electrodes connected to a driver. Thedriver charges the transmitting electrodes (T) with alternating current.The position of a receiving electrode (R) allows the detection of the Xcoordinate upon touch from a finger, while the output voltage from thetransmitting electrode allows the detection of the Y coordinate, thusenabling the positional identification of a single touch or multipletouches. It is desirable to have a set of receiving electrodes (R) madefrom a material with a low sheet resistance (R_(s)), such as silver(e.g., lower R_(s) than ITO of a similar thickness), so that the voltagedrop along each electrode is minimal/reduced. It is desired, at the sametime, that the transmitting electrodes (T) have a higher sheetresistance (reduced conductivity), compared to pure silver in certaincoatings so there is a substantial voltage gradient along each transmitelectrode to increase the noise-to-signal ratio. Thus, there arecompeting interests with respect to the resistivity of the two sets ofelectrodes, namely R and T. We use silver 46 in a coating 41 as asubstitute for the commonly used indium-tin-oxide (ITO), for a much moreconductive electrode material. The silver layer 46 may be sandwichedbetween at least two dielectric layers, and may use an underlayer (e.g.,crystalline zinc oxide 44, which may be doped with Al for example) toattain a higher silver conductivity due to a better crystallineorientation. In this case, the low resistivity of silver allows largeformats of the touch screen, but may sometimes be too low for effectiveuse of transmitting electrodes. To address this discrepancy, one of thetransmitting electrode(s) architectures may use a zigzag pattern asshown in FIG. 3(c) to reduce the width of each electrode, whileincreasing its effective length and, thus increasing its sheetresistance. Such a reduction in width, however, makes the transmittingelectrode prone to defects, such as scratches, particulates,macro-inclusions, etc. Thus, in certain example embodiments of thisinvention, embodiments are provided reducing the conductivity of thesilver layer 46 to make it conductive enough for the receivingelectrodes and, at the same time, resistive enough for an effective useof the transmitting electrodes. The increase in sheet resistance of thesilver layer 46 may be done by one of the following methods or by theircombination: (a) doping the conductive silver layer 46 with an impuritysuch as one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, Al, or a combination thereof,and/or (b) replacing crystalline zinc oxide directly under theconductive silver 46 with a suitable non-crystalline dielectric [e.g.,silicon oxide (e.g., SiO₂), silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride (e.g.,Si₃N₄), titanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂), or zinc stannate], amorphoussemiconductor (e.g., a-Si), or metal alloy (e.g., NiCr, NiCrMo, or thelike ). Doping with some impurities may help make the silver layer 46more resistive to oxidation and/or environmental degradation.

Because the row electrodes and column electrodes x, y illustrated inFIGS. 3(a)-3(c) do not overlap in certain example embodiments, the rowelectrodes and column electrodes may be formed on the same plane bypatterned transparent conductive coating 41, in the manner explainedabove in connection with FIG. 2. Accordingly, electrode structure x, yfor the touch panel 30 of any of FIGS. 3(a)-3(c) may be thin in natureand may be patterned with one process (for example, one photolithographyprocess or one laser patterning process) which reduces the productioncost of the projected capacitive touch panel.

As one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize, touch panels 20 and30 described are not limited to the orientations described above andshown in FIGS. 2-3. In other words, the terms “row,” “column” “x-axis,”and y-axis” as used in this application are not meant to imply aspecific direction. Touch panel 20 of FIG. 2(a), for example, may bemodified or rotated such that interconnect area 21 is located in anypart of touch panel 20.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2(a) and 3, narrow transparent conductive traces(e.g., 22) may be routed to electrically connect electrodes tointerconnect area 21 (and interconnect area 21′). Because of the largeresistance of the narrow ITO traces, narrow ITO traces may only beenused in small touch panels, such as for smart phones. To use one of thelayouts illustrated in FIGS. 2(a) and 3 on larger touch panels (forexample, measuring more than 10 inches diagonally) or otherwise, atransparent conductive coating 41 with lower sheet resistance (comparedto ITO at like thickness) is used. The silver inclusive coating 41 shownin FIG. 4 (any of FIGS. 4(a)-(g)) for use in forming the electrodes andtraces of FIGS. 2-3 is advantageous in this respect because it has amuch lower sheet resistance (and thus more conductivity) than typicalconventional ITO traces/electrodes.

Examples of multilayer silver-inclusive transparent conductive coatings(TCC) 41 with low sheet resistance, for forming any and/or all of theconductive electrodes and/or conductive traces of FIGS. 2-3 areillustrated in FIG. 4 (FIGS. 4(a)-4(g)) according to exemplaryembodiments of this invention. The low sheet resistance and hightransparency of the TCC 41 allow the TCC to form the long narrow traces22 as well as the row and column electrodes x, y and/or transmit/receiveelectrodes for example.

Referring to FIG. 4(a), multilayer transparent conductive coating 41 inan example embodiment is provided, either directly or indirectly, onsubstrate 40. Substrate 40 may be, for example, glass. In alternativeembodiments discussed below, an anti-reflective (AR) coating may beprovided between the substrate 40 and the coating 41. Coating 41 mayinclude, for example, a dielectric high index layer 43 of or including amaterial such as titanium oxide or niobium oxide, which may includetitanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry); adielectric layer of or including zinc oxide 44, optionally doped withaluminum, to be in contact with the silver-based layer; a silver-basedconductive layer 46 on and directly contacting the zinc oxide basedlayer 44; an upper contact layer 47 including nickel and/or chromium orother suitable material which may be oxided and/or nitrided, that isover and contacting the silver-based conductive layer 46; a dielectrichigh index layer 48 of or including a material such as titanium oxide orniobium oxide, which may include titanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂ or othersuitable stoichiometry); a dielectric layer 49 of or including tin oxide(e.g., SnO₂); and a dielectric layer 50 of or including silicon nitrideand/or silicon oxynitride which may be doped with from 1-8% Al forexample. Each of the layers in the coating 41 is designed to besubstantially transparent (e.g., at least 70% or at least 80%transparent) to visible light. The dielectric high index layer 43 may befully oxidized or sub-stoichiometric in different example embodiments.The silver layer 46 may or may not be doped with other materials (e.g.,Pd, Pt, Zn, Ti and/or Al) in certain example embodiments, as discussedherein. Instead, of zinc oxide, layer 44 may be of or include Uppercontact layer 47 may be of or include materials such as NiCr, NiCrO_(x),NiCrN_(x), NiCrON_(x), NiCrMo, MiCrMoO_(x), TiO_(x), or the like. Thezinc oxide of layer 44 directly under the conductive silver 46 may bereplaced with an amorphous or substantially amorphous dielectric [e.g.,silicon oxide (e.g., SiO₂), silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride (e.g.,Si₃N₄), titanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂), or zinc stannate], an amorphoussemiconductor (e.g., a-Si), or a metal alloy (e.g., NiCr, NiCrMo, or thelike) as layer 44, in order to adjust the conductivity of the silverbased layer 46 as discussed herein.

The coating 41 is designed to achieve good conductivity via conductivesilver based layer 46, while optionally at the same time to reducevisibility by more closely matching is visible reflectance (glass sideand/or film side visible reflectance) to the visible reflectance of thesupporting substrate 40. Note that the glass side visible reflectance ismeasured from the side of the coated glass substrate opposite thecoating, whereas the film side visible reflectance is measured from theside of the coated glass substrate having the coating. Substantialmatching of the visible reflectance of the coating 41 and the visiblereflectance of the supporting glass substrate 40 reduces visibility ofthe electrodes and traces formed of the coating material 41.Surprisingly and unexpectedly, it has been found that adjusting certaindielectric thicknesses of the FIG. 4(a) coating can surprising improve(reduce) the visibility of the coating 41 and thus make the patternedelectrodes and traces of the touch panel less visible to users andtherefore more aesthetically pleasing.

While various thicknesses and materials may be used in layers indifferent embodiments of this invention, example thicknesses andmaterials for the respective sputter-deposited layers of coating 41 onthe glass substrate 40 in the FIG. 4(a) embodiment are as follows, fromthe glass substrate outwardly:

TABLE 1 FIG. 4(a) Transparent Conductive Coating More PreferredPreferred Example Thickness Thickness Thickness Ref Material (Å) (Å) (Å)43 TiO_(x) 130-185 150-185 177 44 ZnO  50-140  60-100 83 46 Ag  90-160115-140 124 47 NiCrOx 15-50 15-30 20 48 TiO_(x) 10-60 15-35 23 49 SnO₂ 80-220 110-150 130 50 Si_(x)N_(y) 300-400 300-320 305

It is noted that the above materials for coating 41 in the FIG. 4(a)embodiment are exemplary, so that other material(s) may instead be usedand certain layers may be omitted in certain example embodiments. Thiscoating has both low sheet resistance, and has layers designed to reducevisibility of the coating 41 on the supporting glass substrate 40. Incertain exemplary embodiments, glass substrate 40 with coating 41thereon may be heat treated (e.g., thermally tempered), e.g., aftercoating, or chemically strengthened before coating.

In FIGS. 4(a)-(g), silver-inclusive coating 41 is inexpensive, has a lowsheet resistance (preferably less than 40 ohms/square, more preferablyless than 20 ohms/square, even more preferably less than about 15 or 10ohms/square) and maintains high visible transmittance (preferably atleast 60%, more preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%,and most preferably at least 84% ). The coating 41 is preferablydeposited on substantially the entirety of the major surface of theglass substrate 40, and then patterned to form the electrodes and/ortraces. For example, the example display assembly shown in FIG. 7includes a touch panel (20 or 30 or 50) mounted on a liquid crystaldisplay panel (100-300). In the FIG. 7 embodiment, one or more of therow electrodes, column electrodes, and traces may be formed from coating41 on the surface of the glass substrate 40 opposite the finger, and thetouch panel (20, 30 or 50) may be adhered to the LCD panel via anindex-matching adhesive layer 85. The LCD panel includes first andsecond substrates (e.g., glass substrates) 100, 200 with a liquidcrystal layer 300 provided therebetween. In order to form a touchscreen,the touch panel 20, 30 may optionally be mounted on the LCD panel with asmall air gap or bonded to the display with an index-matching adhesive85. Thus, reference numeral 85 in FIG. 7 represents either an air gap oran index matching adhesive between the display and the touch panel. Itis noted that for the measurements taken for FIGS. 5-6 and 8(a)-(b), anair gap 85 was assumed so that the coating 41 was adjacent an air gap85. In air gap embodiments, the periphery of the substrate 40 supportingthe coating 41 may be bonded to the liquid crystal panel via adhesive orany other suitable type of edge seal material.

The pixel pitch for projected capacitive touch panels may, for example,be in the range of from about 6 to 7 mm. Touch location can bedetermined more accurately for example, to about 1 mm, by signalprocessing and interpolation. If the line width/spacing for the traces22 is approximately 10 μm to 20 μm, it can be calculated that aprojected capacitive touch panel of at least 20 inches (measureddiagonally) is possible for a TCC sheet resistance of about 4ohms/square. Further optimization of the routing, signal processingand/or noise suppression allows for production of even larger touchpanels (for example, up to 40 or 50 inches diagonally). This inventionis also applicable to smaller touch panels in certain exampleembodiments.

Example 1 vs. Comparative Example (CE)

Surprisingly and unexpectedly, it has been found that adjusting certaindielectric thicknesses of the FIG. 4(a) coating can surprisingly reducethe visibility of the coating 41 on the supporting substrate 40, andthus make the electrodes and traces of the touch panel less visible tousers and therefore the overall panel more aesthetically pleasing. Thisis evidenced, for example, by the comparison below between a ComparativeExample (CE) and Example 1 of this invention, where the coatings includefrom the glass substrate outwardly:

TABLE 2 Comparative Example (CE) vs. Example 1 Comparative Example (CE)Example 1 Thickness Thickness Ref Material (Å) (Å) 43 TiO_(x) 194 177 44ZnO 83 83 46 Ag 124 124 47 NiCrOx 20 20 48 TiO_(x) 23 23 49 SnO₂ 30 13050 Si_(x)N_(y) 295 305

It can be seen from Table 2 above that the only difference betweenExample 1 according to this invention and the Comparative Example (CE)are the thicknesses of the dielectric layers 43 and 50. Surprisingly andunexpectedly, it has been found that adjusting the thicknesses of layers43 and 50 the coating can surprising reduce the visibility of thecoating 41 areas on the supporting glass substrate 40 by more closelymatching the visible reflectance (e.g., glass side visible reflectance)of the coating 41 on the glass substrate to the visible reflection ofthe glass substrate 40 alone, and thus make the electrodes and traces ofthe touch panel less visible to users and therefore more aestheticallypleasing. This is shown in FIGS. 5-6 and also in the tables below.

FIG. 5 is a percent transmission/reflectance vs. wavelength (nm) graphillustrating the visible transmission (TR) percentage and glass sidevisible reflection (BRA) percentage of the Comparative Example (CE)coating on a glass substrate, compared to those values for the glasssubstrate alone (Glass-TR, Glass-BRA). Note that FIG. 5 includes thevisible spectrum, as well as some wavelength outside the visiblespectrum. The line plot with the “x” through it in FIG. 5 is the glassside visible reflection of the CE coating on the glass substrate 40(i.e., reflection taken from the side of the finger in FIG. 7), and theline plot in FIG. 5 with the triangle marking through it is the visiblereflection of the glass substrate 40 alone in areas where the coating 41is not present. The difference between these two lines is relevant,because it shows the difference in glass side visible reflectionbetween: (a) areas of the glass substrate 40 where the CE coating is notpresent (i.e., in non-electrode and non-trace areas), and (b) areas ofthe glass substrate 40 where the CE coating is present (i.e., inelectrode and trace areas). Thus, the larger the difference betweenthese two lines (the bottom two lines in the FIG. 5 graph), the morevisible the electrodes and traces are to a viewer from the point of viewon the finger side in FIG. 7. It can be seen in FIG. 5 that there is asignificant gap (more than 2.0 difference in reflectance percentage)between these two lines around the visible wavelength 600 nm (includingon both sides thereof), meaning that the electrodes and traces on atouch panel made of the CE material will be very visible which canrender a touch panel or the like aesthetically non-pleasing.

In contrast, FIG. 6 is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs.wavelength (nm) graph illustrating the visible transmission (CGN-TR orTR) and glass side visible reflection (CGN-BRA or BRA) of the Example 1coating of FIG. 4(a) according to an example embodiment of thisinvention on a glass substrate, demonstrating that it is transparent tovisible light and has glass side visible reflectance more closelymatched to that of the glass substrate compared to the CE in FIG. 5.FIG. 6, like FIG. 5, also illustrates the visible transmission(Glass-TR) and visible reflectance (Glass-BRA) for the glass substratealone in areas without the coating on it. The line plot with the “x”through it in FIG. 6 is the glass side visible reflection of the Example1 coating 41 on the glass substrate 40, and the line plot in FIG. 6 withthe triangular marking through it is the visible reflection of the glasssubstrate 40 alone without the coating 41 on it. The difference betweenthese two lines is relevant, because it shows the difference in visiblereflection (from the point of view of the finger in FIG. 7) between (a)areas of the glass substrate and touch panel where coating 41 is notpresent (i.e., in non-electrode and non-trace areas), and (b) areas ofthe glass substrate and touch panel where the coating 41 is present(i.e., in electrode and trace areas). Thus, the larger the differencebetween these two lines (the bottom two lines in the FIG. 6 graph), themore visible the electrodes and traces are to a viewer. And the smallerthe difference between these two lines (the bottom two lines in the FIG.6 graph), the less visible the electrodes and traces are to a viewer.Comparing FIGS. 5 and 6 to each other, it can be seen that in FIG. 6that there is a much smaller gap (if any) between these two lines forthe visible wavelengths from about 550 nm to about 650 nm compared tothe larger gap for the CE in FIG. 5, meaning that the electrodes andtraces on a touch panel made of the Example 1 material (FIG. 6) will bemuch less visible (compared to the CE material of FIG. 5) which rendersthe touch panel more aesthetically pleasing. In other words, compared tothe CE, Example 1 more closely matches the glass side visiblereflectance of the coating 41 on the glass substrate 40 to the visiblereflection of the glass substrate 40 in areas where the coating is notpresent, and thus make the electrodes and traces of the touch panel lessvisible to users and therefore more aesthetically pleasing.

The table below shows optical differences between the ComparativeExample (CE) and Example 1, where at 550 nm TR is visible transmission,RA is film side visible reflectance which is measured viewing theglass/coating combination from the coating side, and BRA is glass sidevisible reflectance which is measured viewing the glass/coatingcombination from the glass side. As will be recognized by one skilled inthe art, a* and b* are color values measured with respect totransmissive color [a*(TR) and b*(TR)], and glass side reflective color[a*(BRA and b*(BRA)].

TABLE 3 Comparative Example (CE) vs. Example 1 (Optical Parameters)[Ill. C 2 deg.] Comparative Example 1 Example on glass (CE) substrateGlass on glass (FIG. 4a substrate Parameter substrate embodiment) aloneTR (%)  88% 85.47% 91.7% a* (TR) −1 −0.60 −0.35 b* (TR) 1.5 1.05 0.18BRA (%) 5.8%  8.20% 8.11% a* (BRA) −2.2 −2.37 −0.17 b* (BRA) −6 −6.43−0.74

The glass side visible reflection (BRA) of the coating 41 on the glasssubstrate 40 for Example 1 more closely matches the visible reflectionof the glass substrate 40 alone (8.20% vs. 8.11%), compared to the CE(5.8% vs. 8.11%). Thus, the patterned coating 41 on the glass substrate40 is much less visible for Example 1 compared to the CE.

In certain example embodiments of this invention (e.g., FIGS. 2-7), thecoating 41 (unlike the CE) on a glass substrate 40 has a film sidevisible reflectance (RA) from 550-600 nm of from 7-10%, more preferablyfrom 7.5 to 8.5%. And in certain example embodiments of this invention,the coating 41 (unlike the CE) on a glass substrate 40 has a glass sidevisible reflectance (BRA) from 550-600 nm of from 7-13%, more preferablyfrom 7-9%, and still more preferably from 7.25 to 8.75% (the BRA for theCE was only 5.8% as seen above). In certain example embodiments of thisinvention, unlike the CE, there is no more than a 2.0 difference (morepreferably no more than a 1.5 or 1.0 difference) at 550 nm and/or 600nm, or in the range from 550-600 nm, between: (a) the film side and/orglass side visible reflectance percentage of a coated article includingthe coating 41 on a glass substrate 40 (in the area where the coating 41is present), and (b) the visible reflectance percentage of the glasssubstrate alone in areas where coating 41 is not present. This can beseen in FIG. 6 for example (see also FIGS. 8(a)-(b)). In contrast, forexample, for the CE it can be seen from the above that there is a 2.31difference (8.11% -5.8%=2.31) between (a) the glass side visiblereflectance percentage of a coated article including the CE coating on aglass substrate 40 in the area where the coating 41 is present, and (b)the visible reflectance percentage of the glass substrate alone, whichis too much of a difference and renders the electrodes and traces easilyvisible to viewers viewing the device from the side of the finger shownin FIG. 7. Example embodiments of this invention have reduced thisdifference to no more than 2.0, more preferably no more than 1.5, andmost preferably no more than 1.0.

While the Comparative Example (CE) is discussed above in connection withcomparison to Example 1, it is noted that the coatings of both the CEand Example 1 may be used as the electrodes and/or traces in a touchpanel according to example embodiments of this invention.

In certain example embodiments, an antireflective (AR) coating may beprovided between the glass substrate 40 and the coating 41 of any ofFIGS. 4(a)-(g) to still more closely match the visible reflectance(glass side and/or film side) of the coating to that of the supportingsubstrate (glass plus AR coating). The AR coating may be applied acrossthe entire or substantially the entire major surface of the glasssubstrate 40, and unlike the transparent conductive coating 41, the ARcoating need not be patterned in certain example embodiments. As anotheroptional, an AR coating may in effect be provided as a bottom portion ofthe coating 41 in order to add AR effect to the coating 41.

FIG. 4(b) illustrates a multilayer transparent conductive coating 41according to another example embodiment which may be provided, eitherdirectly or indirectly, substrate 40 in any of the devices or productsdiscussed herein (e.g., see FIGS. 2-3, 7 and 9-17). Substrate 40 may be,for example, glass or glass coated with an AR coating. Coating 41 of theFIG. 4(b) embodiment may include, for example, base dielectric layer 61or of including silicon nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄or other suitablestoichiometry), which may or may not be doped with Al and/or oxygen; lowindex dielectric layer 62 of or including silicon oxide (e.g., SiO₂ orother suitable stoichiometry) which may or may not be doped with Aland/or nitrogen; a dielectric high index layer 43 of or including amaterial such as titanium oxide or niobium oxide, which may includetitanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry); adielectric layer 44 of or including zinc oxide (optionally doped withAl) or any of the other materials discussed herein in connection withlayer 44, to be in contact with the silver-based layer; a silver-basedconductive layer 46 on and directly contacting the zinc oxide basedlayer 44; an upper contact layer 47 including nickel and/or chromiumwhich may be oxided and/or nitrided, that is over and contacting thesilver-based conductive layer 46; a dielectric high index layer 48 of orincluding a material such as titanium oxide or niobium oxide, which mayinclude titanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry); adielectric layer 49 of or including tin oxide (e.g., SnO₂); and anouter-most protective dielectric layer 50 of or including siliconnitride and/or silicon oxynitride. Each of the layers in the coating 41is designed to be substantially transparent (e.g., at least 70% or atleast 80% transparent) to visible light. The silver layer 46 may or maynot be doped with other materials as discussed herein.

The coatings 41 of FIGS. 4(a)-(c) are designed to achieve goodconductivity while at the same time to reduce visibility by more closelymatching is visible reflectance (glass side and/or film side visiblereflectance) to the visible reflectance of the supporting substrate 40.Substantial matching of the visible reflectance of the coating 41 andthe visible reflectance of the supporting glass substrate 40 reducesvisibility of the electrodes and traces formed of the coating material41. While various thicknesses and materials may be used in layers indifferent embodiments of this invention, example thicknesses andmaterials for the respective sputter-deposited layers of coating 41 onthe glass substrate 40 in the FIG. 4(b) embodiment are as follows, fromthe glass substrate outwardly:

TABLE 4 FIG. 4(b) Transparent Conductive Coating More PreferredPreferred Example Thickness Thickness Thickness Ref Material (Å) (Å) (Å)61 Si_(x)N_(y) 200-500 250-400 318 62 SiO_(x) 200-600 400-500 440 43TiO_(x) 130-185 150-185 354 44 ZnO  50-140  60-100 83 46 Ag  90-160115-140 124 47 NiCrOx 15-50 15-30 20 48 TiO_(x) 10-60 15-35 23 49 SnO₂ 80-220 110-150 130 50 Si_(x)N_(y) 300-400 300-320 303

It is noted that the above materials for FIG. 4(b) coating 41 areexemplary, so that other material(s) may instead be used and certainlayers may be omitted in certain example embodiments. This coating hasboth low sheet resistance, and has layers designed to reduce visibilityof the coating 41 on the supporting glass substrate 40. In certainexemplary embodiments, glass substrate 40 with coating 41 thereon may beheat treated (e.g., thermally tempered), e.g., after coating, orchemically strengthened before coating. As with the FIG. 4(a)embodiment, the silver-based coating 41 of the FIG. 4(b) embodiment isinexpensive, has a low sheet resistance (preferably less than 15ohms/square, more preferably less than about 10 or 5 ohms/square, withan example being approximately 4 ohms per square) and maintains highvisible transmittance (preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least70%, more preferably at least 80%, and most preferably at least 84% ).The coating 41 is preferably deposited on substantially the entirety ofthe major surface of the glass substrate 40, and then patterned to formthe electrodes and/or traces discussed herein.

Example 2 vs. Comparative Example (CE)

Example 2 utilizes a coating according to the FIG. 4(b) embodiment.Surprisingly and unexpectedly, it has been found that the FIG. 4(b)coating can surprisingly reduce the visibility of the coating 41 on thesupporting substrate 40, and thus make the electrodes and traces of thetouch panel less visible to users and therefore the overall panel moreaesthetically pleasing compared to the CE discussed above. This isevidenced, for example, by the comparison below between a ComparativeExample (CE) and Example 2 of this invention, where the coatings includefrom the glass substrate outwardly:

TABLE 5 Comparative Example (CE) vs. Example 2 Example 2 Thickness RefMaterial (Å) 61 Si₃N₄ 318 62 SiO₂ 440 43 TiO₂ 354 44 ZnO 83 46 Ag 124 47NiCrOx 20 48 TiO₂ 23 49 SnO₂ 130 50 Si₃N₄ 303

FIG. 5 is discussed above, and illustrates properties of the CE.

In contrast, FIG. 8(a) is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs.wavelength (nm) graph illustrating the visible transmission (CGN-TR orTR) and glass side visible reflection (CGN-BRA or BRA) of Example 2 ofthis invention, demonstrating that it is transparent to visible lightand has a glass side visible reflectance more closely matched to thereflectance of the glass substrate alone compared to the CE of FIG. 5.FIG. 8(a) also illustrates the visible transmission (Glass-TR) andvisible reflectance (Glass-BRA) for just the glass substrate absent thecoating. The line plot with the “x” through it in FIG. 8(a) is the glassside visible reflection of the Example 2 coating 41 on the glasssubstrate 40, and the line plot in FIG. 8(a) with the triangular markingthrough it is the visible reflection of the glass substrate 40 alonewithout the coating 41 on it. The difference between these two lines issignificant, because it shows the difference in visible reflection (fromthe point of view of the finger in FIG. 7) between (a) areas of theglass substrate and touch panel where coating 41 is not present (i.e.,in non-electrode and non-trace areas), and (b) areas of the glasssubstrate and touch panel where the coating 41 is present (i.e., inelectrode and trace areas). Thus, the larger the difference betweenthese two lines (the bottom two lines in the FIG. 8(a) graph), the morevisible the electrodes and traces are to a viewer. And the smaller thedifference between these two lines (the bottom two lines in the FIG.8(a) graph), the less visible the electrodes and traces are to a viewer.Comparing FIGS. 5 and 8(a) to each other, it can be seen that in FIG.8(a) that there is a much smaller gap (if any) between these two linesfor the visible wavelengths from about 550 nm to about 650 nm comparedto the larger gap for the CE in FIG. 5, meaning that the electrodes andtraces on a touch panel made of the Example 2 material will be much lessvisible (compared to the CE material of FIG. 5) which renders the touchpanel more aesthetically pleasing. In other words, compared to the CE,Example 2 more closely matches the glass side visible reflectance of thecoating 41 on the glass substrate 40 to the visible reflection of theglass substrate 40 in areas where the coating is not present, and thusmake the electrodes and traces of the touch panel less visible to usersand therefore more aesthetically pleasing.

The table below shows optical differences between the ComparativeExample (CE) and Example 2, where at 550 nm TR is visible transmission,RA is film side visible reflectance which is measured viewing theglass/coating combination from the coating side, and BRA is glass sidevisible reflectance which is measured viewing the glass/coatingcombination from the glass side. As will be recognized by one skilled inthe art, a* and b* are color values measured with respect totransmissive color [a*(TR) and b*(TR)], and glass side reflective color[a*(BRA and b*(BRA)].

TABLE 6 Comparative Example (CE) vs. Example 2 (Optical Parameters)[Ill. C 2 deg.] Comparative Example 2 on Example (CE) glass substrateGlass on glass (FIG. 4b substrate Parameter substrate embodiment) aloneTR (%)  88% 85.75% 91.7% a* (TR) −1 −1.05 −0.35 b* (TR) 1.5 −0.31 0.18BRA (%) 5.8%  7.86% 8.11% a* (BRA) −2.2 0.02 −0.17 b* (BRA) −6 −0.33−0.74

It is relevant here that the glass side visible reflection (BRA) of thecoating 41 on the glass substrate 40 for Example 2 more closely matchesthe visible reflection of the glass substrate 40 alone (7.86% vs.8.11%), compared to the CE (5.8% vs. 8.11%). Thus, the patterned coating41 on the glass substrate 40 is much less visible for Example 2 comparedto the CE. As discussed above, in certain example embodiments of thisinvention (e.g., FIGS. 2-7), the coating 41 (unlike the CE) on a glasssubstrate 40 has a film side visible reflectance (RA) from 550-600 nm offrom 7-10%, more preferably from 7.5 to 8.5%. And in certain exampleembodiments of this invention, the coating 41 (unlike the CE) on a glasssubstrate 40 has a glass side visible reflectance (BRA) from 550-600 nmof from 7-13%, more preferably from 7-9%, and still more preferably from7.25 to 8.75% (the BRA for the CE was only 5.8% as seen above). As alsomentioned above, in certain example embodiments of this invention thereis no more than a 2.0 difference (more preferably no more than a 1.5 or1.0 difference) at 550 nm and/or 600 nm, or in the range from 550-600nm, between: (a) the film side and/or glass side visible reflectancepercentage of a coated article including the coating 41 on a glasssubstrate 40 (in the area where the coating 41 is present), and (b) thevisible reflectance percentage of the glass substrate alone in areaswhere coating 41 is not present. This can be seen in FIG. 8(a) forexample (see also FIGS. 6 and 8(b) ). In contrast, for example, for theCE it can be seen from the above that there is a 2.31 difference(8.11%-5.8%=2.31 ) between (a) the glass side visible reflectancepercentage of a coated article including the CE coating on a glasssubstrate 40 in the area where the coating 41 is present, and (b) thevisible reflectance percentage of the glass substrate alone, which istoo much of a difference and renders the electrodes and traces easilyvisible to viewers viewing the device from the side of the finger shownin FIG. 7. Example embodiments of this invention have reduced thisdifference to no more than 2.0, more preferably no more than 1.5, andmost preferably no more than 1.0.

FIG. 4(c) illustrates a multilayer transparent conductive coating (41′or 41″, both of which may also be referred to as 41) according toanother example embodiment which may be provided, either directly orindirectly, substrate 40 in any of the devices or products discussedherein (e.g., see FIGS. 2-3, 7 and 9-17). Substrate 40 may be, forexample, glass. Coating 41′ of the FIG. 4(c) embodiment may include, forexample, an antireflective (AR) section 70 including a dielectric highindex layer 71 of or including a material such as titanium oxide orniobium oxide, which may include titanium oxide (e.g., TiO₂ or othersuitable stoichiometry); low index dielectric layer 72 of or includingsilicon oxide (e.g., SiO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry) which may ormay not be doped with Al and/or nitrogen; a dielectric high index layer73 of or including a material such as titanium oxide or niobium oxide;another low index dielectric layer 74 of or including silicon oxide(e.g., SiO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry) which may or may not bedoped with Al and/or nitrogen, and a dielectric layer 75 of or includingzirconium oxide (e.g., ZrO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry). The“substrate” in the FIG. 4(c) embodiment may be considered the glass 40plus the AR section 70 of the coating, as the AR section 70 of thecoating 41′ need not be patterned along with the rest of the coating41′, and in such a case the transparent conductive coating of the FIG.4(c) embodiment may be considered to be made up of just the layers 61,44, 46, 47 and 50. In other words, in the FIG. 4(c) embodiment, themulti-layer transparent conductive coating may be considered as 41″which is made up of layers 61, 44, 46, 47 and 50, and the “substrate”may be considered to be the combination of the glass 40 and the ARcoating 70.

The coating 41 of the FIG. 4(c) embodiment may further include, assection 41″, dielectric layer 61 or of including silicon nitride (e.g.,Si₃N₄ or other suitable stoichiometry), which may or may not be dopedwith Al and/or oxygen; a dielectric layer 44 of or including zinc oxide(optionally doped with Al) or any of the other materials discussedherein in connection with layer 44, to be in contact with thesilver-based layer; a silver-based conductive layer 46 on and directlycontacting the zinc oxide based layer 44; an upper contact layer 47including nickel and/or chromium which may be oxided and/or nitrided,that is over and contacting the silver-based conductive layer 46;optionally a dielectric high index layer 48 of or including a materialsuch as titanium oxide or niobium oxide, which may include titaniumoxide (e.g., TiO₂ or other suitable stoichiometry); and an outer-mostprotective dielectric layer 50 of or including silicon nitride and/orsilicon oxynitride. Each of the layers in the coating 41 of the FIG.4(a)-(c) embodiments is designed to be substantially transparent (e.g.,at least 70% or at least 80% transparent) to visible light. Silver layer46 may or may not be doped as discussed herein.

The coating 41 of FIG. 4(c) is designed to achieve good conductivitywhile at the same time to reduce visibility by more closely matching isvisible reflectance (glass side and/or film side visible reflectance) tothe visible reflectance of the supporting substrate. Substantialmatching of the visible reflectance of the coating 41 and the visiblereflectance of the supporting substrate reduces visibility of theelectrodes and traces formed of the coating material 41. While variousthicknesses and materials may be used in layers in different embodimentsof this invention, example thicknesses and materials for the respectivesputter-deposited layers of coating 41 on the glass 40 in the FIG. 4(c)embodiment are as follows, from the glass outwardly:

TABLE 7 FIG. 4(c) Coating More Preferred Preferred Example ThicknessThickness Thickness Ref Material (Å) (Å) (Å) 71 TiO_(x)  40-350  50-250100 72 SiO_(x) 200-600 300-450 373 73 NbO_(x)  200-2000  500-1500 111274 SiO_(x)  200-1200 500-950 744 75 ZrO_(x)  30-120 30-80 50 61Si_(x)N_(y) 150-500 200-400 271 44 ZnO  50-140  60-100 83 46 Ag  90-160115-150 131 47 NiCrOx 15-50 15-30 20 50 Si_(x)N_(y) 300-450 300-350 339

It is noted that the above materials for FIG. 4(c) coating 41 areexemplary, so that other material(s) may instead be used and certainlayers may be omitted in certain example embodiments. The coating hasboth low sheet resistance, and has layers designed to reduce visibilityof the coating 41 on the supporting substrate. In certain exemplaryembodiments, glass substrate 40 with coating 41 thereon may be heattreated (e.g., thermally tempered), e.g., after coating, or chemicallystrengthened before coating. As with the FIG. 4(a)-(b) embodiments, thesilver-based coating 41 of the FIG. 4(c) embodiment is inexpensive, hasa low sheet resistance (preferably less than 15 ohms/square, morepreferably less than about 10 or 5 ohms/square, with an example beingapproximately 4 ohms per square) and maintains high visibletransmittance (preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%,more preferably at least 80%, and most preferably at least 84%). Thecoating 41 is preferably deposited on substantially the entirety of themajor surface of the glass substrate 40 and then patterned to form theelectrodes and traces discussed herein.

Example 3 vs. Comparative Example (CE)

Example 3 utilizes a coating according to the FIG. 4(c) embodiment.Surprisingly and unexpectedly, it has been found that the FIG. 4(c)coating can surprisingly reduce the visibility of the coating 41 on thesupporting substrate, and thus make the electrodes and traces of thetouch panel less visible to users and therefore the overall panel moreaesthetically pleasing compared to the CE discussed above. This isevidenced, for example, by the comparison below between a ComparativeExample (CE) and Example 3 of this invention, where the coatings includefrom the glass outwardly:

TABLE 8 Comparative Example (CE) vs. Example 3 Example 3 Thickness RefMaterial (Å) 71 TiO₂ 100 72 SiO₂ 373 73 NbO_(x) 1112 74 SiO₂ 744 75 ZrO₂50 61 Si₃N₄ 271 44 ZnO 83 46 Ag 131 47 NiCrOx 20 50 Si₃N₄ 339

FIG. 5 is discussed above, and illustrates properties of the CE.

In contrast, FIG. 8(b) is a percent visible transmission/reflectance vs.wavelength (nm) graph illustrating the visible transmission (CGN-TR orTR) and glass side visible reflection (CGN-BRA or BRA) of Example 3according to another example embodiment of this invention, demonstratingthat it is transparent to visible light and has a glass side visiblereflectance more closely matched to the reflectance of the substratecompared to the CE. FIG. 8(b) also illustrates the visible transmission(Glass-TR) and visible reflectance (Glass-BRA) for just the glasssubstrate and AR section 71-75 absent the other layers (61, 44, 46, 47and 50) of the coating. The line plot with the “x” through it in FIG.8(b) is the glass side visible reflection of the Example 3 coating 41 onthe glass substrate 40, and the line plot in FIG. 8(b) with thetriangular marking through it is the visible reflection of the glasssubstrate 40 with only the AR section 70-75 thereon. The differencebetween these two lines is relevant, because it shows the difference invisible reflection (from the point of view of the finger in FIG. 7)between (a) areas of the glass substrate and touch panel where just theAR section of the coating is present (i.e., in non-electrode andnon-trace areas), and (b) areas of the glass substrate and touch panelwhere the entire coating 41 is present (i.e., in electrode and traceareas). Thus, the larger the difference between these two lines (thebottom two lines in the FIG. 8(b) graph), the more visible theelectrodes and traces are to a viewer. And the smaller the differencebetween these two lines (the bottom two lines in the FIG. 8(b) graph),the less visible the electrodes and traces are to a viewer. ComparingFIGS. 5 and 8(b) to each other, it can be seen that in FIG. 8(b) thatthere is a much smaller gap (if any) between these two lines for thevisible wavelengths from about 550 nm to about 650 nm compared to thelarger gap for the CE in FIG. 5, meaning that the electrodes and traceson a touch panel made of the Example 3 material will be much lessvisible (compared to the CE material of FIG. 5) which renders the touchpanel more aesthetically pleasing. In other words, compared to the CE,Example 3 more closely matches the glass side visible reflectance of thecoating 41 on the glass substrate 40 to the visible reflection of thesupporting substrate (glass plus AR layers), and thus make theelectrodes and traces of the touch panel less visible to users andtherefore more aesthetically pleasing.

The table below shows optical characteristics of Example 3, where at 550nm TR is visible transmission, RA is film side visible reflectance whichis measured viewing the glass/coating combination from the coating side,and BRA is glass side visible reflectance which is measured viewing theglass/coating combination from the glass side. As will be recognized byone skilled in the art, a* and b* are color values measured with respectto transmissive color [a*(TR) and b*(TR)], and glass side reflectivecolor [a*(BRA and b*(BRA)]. In the table below for Example 3, the glasssubstrate parameters are for the glass substrate with only AR layers71-75 thereon across the entire substrate 40, and the Example 3parameters are for the entire coating 41 on the glass substrate 40(i.e., the AR layers 71-75 may be provided across substantially theentire substrate whereas the layers 61, 44, 46, 47 and 50 may bepatterned to form the electrodes and traces).

TABLE 9 Example 3 (Optical Parameters) [Ill. C 2 deg.] Example 3 onGlass substrate glass substrate with only AR (FIG. 4c layers 71-75Parameter embodiment) thereon TR (%) 85.61% 94.80% a* (TR) −0.78 −0.30b* (TR) −0.94 0.35 BRA (%)  4.99%  4.51% a* (BRA) −0.15 −0.44 b* (BRA)−1.38 −2.34

The glass side visible reflection (BRA) of the entire coating 41 on theglass substrate 40 for Example 3 closely matches the visible reflectionof the glass substrate 40 with only the AR layers 71-75 thereon (4.99%vs. 4.51%). Thus, the patterned coating portion (61, 44, 46, 47 and 50)on the substrate is much less visible for Example 3 compared to the CE.In certain example embodiments of this invention, the coating 41 (unlikethe CE) of this embodiment on a glass substrate 40 has a glass sidevisible reflectance (BRA) from 550-600 nm of from 4-13%, more preferablyfrom 4.5-9%, and still more preferably from 4.5 to 8.75%. As alsomentioned above, in certain example embodiments of this invention (FIGS.2-14) there is no more than a 2.0 difference (more preferably no morethan a 1.5 or 1.0 difference) at 550 nm and/or 600 nm, or in the rangefrom 550-600 nm, between: (a) the film side and/or glass side visiblereflectance percentage of a coated article including the entire coating41 on a glass substrate 40 (in the area where the coating 41 is entirelypresent), and (b) the visible reflectance percentage of the glasssubstrate areas where only the glass 40 and AR layers 71-75 are present.This can be seen in FIG. 8(b) for example. In contrast, for example, forthe CE it can be seen from the above that there is a 2.31 difference(8.11%−5.8%=2.31) between (a) the glass side visible reflectancepercentage of a coated article including the CE coating on a glasssubstrate 40 in the area where the coating 41 is present, and (b) thevisible reflectance percentage of the glass substrate alone, which istoo much of a difference and renders the electrodes and traces easilyvisible to viewers viewing the device from the side of the finger shownin FIG. 7. Example embodiments of this invention have reduced thisdifference to no more than 2.0, more preferably no more than 1.5, andmost preferably no more than 1.0.

FIG. 4(d) illustrates a multilayer transparent conductive coating 41according to another example embodiment which may be provided, eitherdirectly or indirectly, on substrate 40 in any of the devices orproducts discussed herein (e.g., see FIGS. 2-3, 7 and 9-17). Substrate40 may be, for example, glass or glass coated with an AR coating.Coating 41 of the FIG. 4(d) embodiment may include, for example, basedielectric layer 61 or of including silicon nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄ orother suitable stoichiometry) which may or may not be doped with Aland/or oxygen, silicon oxynitride, or other suitable dielectricmaterial; lower contact layer 44 of or including zinc oxide which may bedoped with from about 1-8% Al, or may be of or include any of the othermaterials discussed herein in connection with layer 44, and is incontact with the silver based layer; silver-based conductive layer 46 onand directly contacting the lower contact layer 44; an upper contactlayer 47 including nickel and/or chromium which may be oxided and/ornitrided that is over and contacting the silver-based conductive layer46; dielectric layer 50 of or including silicon nitride and/or siliconoxynitride or other suitable material, dielectric layer of or includingzirconium oxide (e.g., ZrO₂) 75, and optionally protective layer of orincluding diamond-like carbon (DLC) 120. The DLC of layer 120 may, forexample, be any of the DLC materials discussed in any of U.S. Pat. Nos.6,261,693, 6,303,225, 6,447,891, 7,622,161, and/or 8,277,946, which areincorporated herein by reference. Each of the layers in the coating 41is designed to be substantially transparent (e.g., at least 70% or atleast 80% transparent) to visible light. The silver layer 46 may or maynot be doped with other materials as discussed herein. Upper contactlayer 47 may be of or include materials such as NiCr, NiCrO_(x),NiCrN_(x), NiCrON_(x), NiCrMo, MiCrMoO_(x), TiO_(x), or the like.

While various thicknesses and materials may be used in layers indifferent embodiments of this invention, example thicknesses andmaterials for the respective sputter-deposited layers of coating 41 onthe glass 40 in the FIG. 4(d) embodiment are as follows, from the glassoutwardly:

FIG. 4(d) Coating

More Preferred Preferred Example Thickness Thickness Thickness RefMaterial (Å) (Å) (Å) 61 Si_(x)N_(y) 150-500 200-400 271 44 ZnO  50-140 60-100 83 46 Ag  90-160 115-150 131 47 NiCrNx 15-50 15-30 20 50Si_(x)N_(y) 200-500 300-350 339 75 ZrO₂  40-300  50-200 100 120 DLC 10-200  20-150 40-120

FIG. 4(e) illustrates a multilayer transparent conductive coating 41according to another example embodiment which may be provided, eitherdirectly or indirectly, on substrate 40 in any of the devices orproducts discussed herein (e.g., see FIGS. 2-3, 7 and 9-17). The FIG.4(e) coating is the same as the FIG. 4(d) coating, except that layer 120is not present in the FIG. 4(e) coating.

FIG. 4(f) illustrates a multilayer transparent conductive coating 41according to another example embodiment which may be provided, eitherdirectly or indirectly, on substrate 40 in any of the devices orproducts discussed herein (e.g., see FIGS. 2-3, 7 and 9-17). Substrate40 may be, for example, glass or glass coated with an AR coating.Coating 41 of the FIG. 4(f) embodiment may include, for example, basedielectric layer 61 or of including silicon nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄ orother suitable stoichiometry), which may or may not be doped with Aland/or oxygen; lower contact layer 101 in contact with the silver basedlayer and which may include nickel and/or chromium which may be oxidedand/or nitrided; silver-based conductive layer 46 on and directlycontacting the lower contact layer 101; an upper contact layer 47including nickel and/or chromium which may be oxided and/or nitridedthat is over and contacting the silver-based conductive layer 46; and anprotective dielectric layer 50 of or including silicon nitride and/orsilicon oxynitride. Each of the layers in the coating 41 is designed tobe substantially transparent (e.g., at least 70% or at least 80%transparent) to visible light. The silver layer 46 may or may not bedoped as discussed herein. Upper and lower contact layers 47 and 101 maybe of or include materials such as NiCr, NiCrO_(x), NiCrN_(x),NiCrON_(x), NiCrMo, MiCrMoO_(x), TiO_(x), or the like. Optionally, alayer of or including diamond-like carbon (DLC) or zirconium oxide(e.g,. ZrO₂) may be provided as a protective overcoat in the coating 41over the layer 50 in the FIG. 4(f) embodiment. The zirconium oxideand/or DLC layers discussed herein provide for scratch resistance, andresistance to stains and cleaning chemicals in applications such asshower door/wall touch panel applications. The use of one or more ofNiCr, NiCrO_(x), NiCrN_(x), NiCrON_(x), NiCrMo, and/or MiCrMoO for layerlower contact layer 101, instead of crystalline zinc oxide layer 44,allows the conductivity of the silver layer 46 to be reduced in a mannerthat is sometimes desirable, as discussed herein.

While various thicknesses and materials may be used in layers indifferent embodiments of this invention, example thicknesses andmaterials for the respective sputter-deposited layers of coating 41 onthe glass 40 in the FIG. 4(f) embodiment are as follows, from the glassoutwardly:

FIG. 4(f) Coating

More Preferred Preferred Example Thickness Thickness Thickness RefMaterial (Å) (Å) (Å) 61 Si_(x)N_(y) 10-500 20-200 100 101 NiCrN_(x) 5-5010-30  20 46 Ag 50-160 115-150  131 47 NiCrNx 5-50 10-30  20 50Si_(x)N_(y) 100-500  200-300  250

FIG. 4(g) illustrates a multilayer transparent conductive coating 41according to another example embodiment which may be provided, eitherdirectly or indirectly, on substrate 40 in any of the devices orproducts discussed herein (e.g., see FIGS. 2-3, 7 and 9-17). Substrate40 may be, for example, glass or glass coated with an AR coating.Coating 41 of the FIG. 4(g) embodiment may include, for example, basedielectric layer 61 or of including silicon nitride (e.g., Si₃N₄ orother suitable stoichiometry), which may or may not be doped with Aland/or oxygen; lower contact layer 44 as discussed above in connectionwith other figures; silver-based conductive layer 46 on and directlycontacting the lower contact layer 44; an upper contact layer 47including nickel and/or chromium which may be oxided and/or nitridedthat is over and contacting the silver-based conductive layer 46;dielectric layer 50 of or including silicon nitride and/or siliconoxynitride, which may be doped with from about 1-8% (atomic %) Al; andprotective overcoat of or including zirconium oxide (e.g., ZrO₂) 75.Each of the layers in the coating 41 is designed to be substantiallytransparent (e.g., at least 70% or at least 80% transparent) to visiblelight. The silver layer 46 may or may not be doped with other materialsas discussed herein. Upper contact layer 47 may be of or includematerials such as NiCr, NiCrO_(x), NiCrN_(x), NiCrON_(x), NiCrMo,MiCrMoO_(x), TiO_(x), or the like. Optionally, a layer of or includingdiamond-like carbon (DLC) may be provided as a protective overcoat inthe coating 41 over the layer 75 in the FIG. 4(g) embodiment. Note thatlayer 47 may optionally be omitted from the FIG. 4(g) embodiment incertain example embodiments of this invention.

While various thicknesses and materials may be used in layers indifferent embodiments of this invention, example thicknesses andmaterials for the respective sputter-deposited layers of coating 41 onthe glass 40 in the FIG. 4(g) embodiment are as follows, from the glassoutwardly:

FIG. 4(g) Coating

More Preferred Preferred Example Thickness Thickness Thickness RefMaterial (Å) (Å) (Å) 61 Si_(x)N_(y) 10-500 20-200 100 44 ZnO 20-14030-100 83 46 Ag 50-160 115-150  131 47 NiCrNx 5-50 10-30  20 50Si_(x)N_(y) 100-500  200-300  250 75 ZrO₂ 40-300 50-200 100

The coatings shown in any of FIGS. 4-6 of parent case Ser. No.13/685,871 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,354,755, and incorporated herein byreference), and/or described elsewhere in parent case Ser. No.13/685,871, may also be used as the multi-layer transparent conductivecoatings 41 in touch panels for electrodes and/or traces in any of thevarious embodiments discussed herein.

The patterned low sheet resistance coatings 41 herein (e.g., any of theFIG. 2-8 embodiments) may also be used in low resolution touch panelapplications (e.g., see FIG. 9). Example applications for touch panelsdiscussed herein are interactive storefronts, preferably standalone, butpossibly also in combination with a projected image on the glassassembly or with direct view displays, shower controls on glass basedshower doors or glass based shower walls, light controls on glass wallsin office buildings, controls for appliances such as ovens, stovetops,refrigerators, and the like. The glass substrate 40 may be flat orcurved (e.g., heat bent) in different embodiments of this invention. Thesilver based coatings 41 discussed herein are advantageous with respectto bent substrates, because conventional ITO coatings for touch panelsare typically highly crystalline and relatively thick and brittle whenbent, which can readily lead to failure of the ITO. In bent glassapplications, the glass or plastic substrate 40 may be bent for examplevia heat bending, cold lamination, or any other suitable technique, andmay end up with a curvature radius after bending of from about 0.05 to100 nm. Low resolution touch panels on glass allow the user to selectinformation or otherwise interact with the glass surface whilesimultaneously viewing what's behind the glass. In a standaloneconfiguration, for example, the touch panel may be operated from bothsides of the glass panel. Low resolution capacitive touch panels may befor example an array of 5×5 touch buttons, each about a square inch andseparated by about half an inch, as shown in FIG. 9. The touch principleof operation may be self-capacitance which can detect gloved fingers aswell as bare fingers. The interconnect flex circuit in FIG. 9 isconnected to a touch controller and the function of each button cantherefore be reconfigured in software or firmware. The lower resolutiontouch interface is easier to make than a multi-touch panel on top of ahigh resolution LCD, because the minimum feature size for the patterningcoating 41 by laser, photolithography or other method can be muchlarger. For example, the minimum feature size for the traces could beabout 1 mm, so that the requirements for pinholes, scratches and otherdefects in the glass and in the coating are greatly relaxed. In otherwords, it allows the use of standard soda lime glass 40 and coatings 41produced in a horizontal architectural coater. For certain lowresolution touch applications, there is no need for the advanced cleanroom facilities that typically are used to produce high resolutionmulti-touch panels for phones, tablets, laptops and larger sizemulti-touch panels. The wider traces (e.g 1 mm) also reduce theresistance and signal delay from the touch electrodes.

Referring to the laminated FIG. 10 embodiment (the coatings of any ofFIGS. 2-8 may be used in the FIG. 10 embodiment, as well as in the FIG.7 lamination embodiment), to further protect the patterned silver basedcoating 41 from corrosion in a standalone application, the touch panelsubstrate 40 (with or without an AR coating thereon between 40 and 41)is laminated to another glass substrate 45 with PVB, EVA, or otherpolymer inclusive lamination material 52. The PVB 52 based laminatinglayer for example will encapsulate the patterned coating 41, so thatcorrosion is further inhibited. Of course, as explained herein, thetouch panel need not include the second substrates or the laminatinglayer in certain instances and may be made up of the glass substrate 40and the electrodes/traces/circuitry discussed herein.

FIGS. 15-17 are cross sectional views of capacitive touch panelsaccording to various embodiments of this invention that includeadditional functional film 300. FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view of acapacitive touch panel according to an example embodiment of thisinvention, including the transparent conductive coating pattern 41according to any of FIGS. 2, 3, 4 (any of 4(a)-(g)), 7, 8, 9, or 10 onsurface #2, and an additional functional film 300 provided on thesurface adapted to be touched by a user. Note the user's finger shown inFIG. 15. Meanwhile, FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of a capacitivetouch panel according to another example embodiment of this invention,including the transparent conductive coating pattern 41 according to anyof FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, or 10 on surface #3, and an additionalfunctional film 300 provided on the surface adapted to be touched by auser. In the laminated embodiments of FIGS. 15-16, to further protectthe patterned silver based coating 41 from corrosion, the touch panelsubstrate 40 (glass or plastic, with or without an AR coating thereonbetween 40 and 41) is laminated to another glass substrate 45 (or 200)with PVB or other polymer inclusive lamination material 52. Thelaminating material (e.g., EVA or PVB) 52 will encapsulate the patternedcoating 41, so that corrosion is further inhibited. And FIG. 17 is across sectional view of a monolithic capacitive touch panel according toanother example embodiment of this invention, including the transparentconductive coating pattern 41 according to any of FIG. 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9,or 10 on surface #2, and additional functional films 300 and 301. TheFIG. 17 monolithic embodiment may be designed for the user to toucheither major surface of the touch panel. An interconnect 400, such as aflexible circuit, is provided for allowing the electrodes 41 of thetouch panel to communicate with processing circuitry such as theprocessor discussed above.

Functional film 300 and/or 301 in FIGS. 15-17 may be made up of one ormore layers, and may be one or more of: an index-matching film, anantiglare film, an anti-fingerprint film, and anti-microbial film, ascratch resistant film, and/or an antireflective (AR) film. Unlike theelectrode/trace coating 41, functional films 300 and 301 need not bepatterned and may be applied across substantially the entirety of thesubstrate 40 (or 45).

When functional film 300 and/or 301 is an index matching (see also indexmatching film 85 in FIG. 7), this is provided to reduce the refractiveindex different between the areas/surfaces adjacent the two sides of theindex matching film, in order to reduce visible reflections and renderthe touch panel more aesthetically pleasing. Laminating layers 52 inFIGS. 15-16 may also be index matching films. Index matching films mayor may not be adhesive types in different embodiments of this invention.Thus, the index matching film has a refractive index value that isvalued between the respective refractive index values of theareas/surfaces on both sides of the index matching film. For example, inFIG. 7 the index matching film 85 has a refractive index value betweenthe refractive index values of coating 41 and substrate 200. In asimilar manner, in FIG. 15 the index matching film 300 would have arefractive index value between the refractive index values of substrate40 and air. In a similar manner, in FIG. 17 the index matching film 301would have a refractive index value between the refractive index valuesof coating 41 and air. Example index matching films include opticallyclear adhesives and index matching laminating material.

When functional film 300 in FIGS. 15-17 is an antiglare film, this isprovided to reduce glare off the front of the touch panel in order torender the touch panel more aesthetically pleasing. Example anti-glarefilms that may be used are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,114,472 and8,974,066, which are incorporated herein by reference. Moreover, anantiglare surface at surface #1 of the touch panel may be obtained by ashort or weak acid etch of surface #1 (the surface shown being touchedin FIGS. 15-17).

When functional film 300 in FIGS. 15-17 is an anti-fingerprint film,this is provided to reduce visibility of fingerprints on the touch panelto render the touch panel more aesthetically pleasing. Exampleanti-fingerprint films that may be used are described in U.S. Pat. No.8,968,831, which is incorporated herein by reference. Anti-fingerprintor anti-smudge films may be obtained for example with an oleo-phobiccoating and/or roughened surface. Spray-on anti-fingerprint coatings,such as fluorocarbon compounds, with limited durability, may also beused. Such film may increase the initial contact angle of surface #1(for sessile drop of water) of the touch panel to a value of at least 90degrees, more preferably at least 100 degrees, and most preferably atleast 110 degrees.

When functional film 300 in FIGS. 15-17 is an anti-microbial film, thisis provided to kill germs at the front of the touch panel in order torender the touch panel more health appealing. Example anti-microbialfilms that may be used include silver colloids, rough titanium oxide,porous titanium oxide, doped titanium oxide, and may be described inU.S. Pat. Document Nos. 8,647,652, 8,545,899, 7,846,866, 8,802,589,2010/0062032, 7,892,662, 8,092,912, and 8,221,833, which are allincorporated herein by reference.

When functional film 300 in FIGS. 15-17 is a scratch resistant film,this is provided to reduce scratching and improve durability of thetouch panel. Example scratch resistant films may be made of ZrO₂ or DLC.When functional film 300 is of or includes DLC, the DLC may for examplebe any of the DLC materials discussed in any of U.S. Pat. Nos.6,261,693, 6,303,225, 6,447,891, 7,622,161, and/or 8,277,946, which areincorporated herein by reference.

When functional film 300 in FIGS. 15-17 is an antireflective (AR) film,this is provided to reduce visible reflections off the front of thetouch panel to render the panel more aesthetically pleasing. Example ARfilms that may be used are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,556,066,9,109,121, 8,693,097, 7,767,253, 6,337,124, and 5,891,556, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Incertain example embodiments, the AR film may be part of the multi-layertransparent conductive coating (e.g., see AR film 70 which is part ofcoating 41 ′ in FIG. 4(c)).

It is noted that in various embodiments of this invention, electrodepatterns other than a rectangular array of buttons can be envisionedincluding patterns allowing swiping, circular patterns for dials, and soforth. Potential applications include storefronts, commercialrefrigerators, appliances, glass walls in office or other environments,transportation, dynamic glazing, vending machines, and so forth, where asee-through low resolution touch panel is beneficial as a userinterface.

The sputter-deposited coating 41 discussed above in connection withFIGS. 2-10 may be formed and patterned in any of a variety of manners.For example, the sputter-deposited coating 41 may be formed by inkjetprinting and lift-off (see FIG. 11), metal shadow mask patterning (seeFIG. 12), photolithograph (see FIG. 13), or laser patterning (see FIG.14).

In an example embodiment of this invention, there is provided acapacitive touch panel, comprising: a glass substrate; a multi-layertransparent conductive coating supported by the glass substrate, themulti-layer transparent conductive coating including at least oneconductive layer comprising silver, a dielectric layer located betweenat least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver,and a dielectric layer comprising one or more of: zirconium oxide,silicon nitride, and tin oxide located over the conductive layercomprising silver; a plurality of electrodes and a plurality ofconductive traces, wherein the electrodes and/or the conductive tracesinclude the multi-layer transparent conductive coating; and processorconfigured for determining touch position on the touch panel; whereinthe plurality of electrodes are formed substantially in a common planeand are supported by the glass substrate.

In the capacitive touch panel of the immediately preceding paragraph,the conductive layer comprising silver may be doped.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding two paragraphs,the conductive layer comprising silver may be doped with from about 0.05to 3.0% (wt. %) [more preferably from 0.1 to 2.0%, and most preferablyfrom 0.1 to 0.5%] of one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, and Al.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding three paragraphs,the layer over and contacting the conductive layer comprising silver maycomprise Ni and/or Cr.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding four paragraphs,the transparent conductive coating may have a sheet resistance of lessthan or equal to about 40 ohms/square, more preferably less than orequal to about 20 ohms/square.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding five paragraphs,the dielectric layer comprising one or more of zirconium oxide, siliconnitride, and tin oxide may comprise ZrO₂.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding six paragraphs,the dielectric layer comprising one or more of zirconium oxide, siliconnitride, and tin oxide, may comprise silicon nitride, optionally furtherincluding oxygen and/or aluminum.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding seven paragraphs,the dielectric layer located between at least the glass substrate andthe conductive layer comprising silver may comprise an oxide oftitanium.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding eight paragraphs,the dielectric layer located between at least the glass substrate andthe conductive layer comprising silver may comprise silicon nitride,optionally including oxygen and/or aluminum.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding nine paragraphs,the multi-layer transparent conductive coating may further comprise (a)a layer comprising Ni and Cr (or Ni, Cr and Mo) that contacts the layercomprising silver, wherein the layer comprising Ni and Cr (or Ni, Cr andMo) may be located between at least the glass substrate and theconductive layer comprising silver, (b) a semiconductor layer thatcontacts the layer comprising silver, wherein the semiconductor layer islocated between at least the glass substrate and the conductive layercomprising silver, or (c) a substantially amorphous dielectric layercomprising one or more of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, and titanium oxide that contacts the layer comprisingsilver, wherein the substantially amorphous dielectric layer is locatedbetween at least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprisingsilver.

The capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding ten paragraphs may beprovided on a glass door, such as a shower door or any other suitabledoor.

The capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding eleven paragraphs maybe configured to control a shower functionality.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding twelve paragraphs,the glass substrate may be thermally tempered.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding thirteenparagraphs, the glass substrate may further support a functional film,such as an antiglare film, an anti-microbial film, and/or ananti-fingerprint film. The functional film, unlike the transparentconductive coating, need not be patterned. The functional film may belocated on an opposite side of the glass substrate than the transparentconductive coating.

The capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding fourteen paragraphsmay be coupled to a liquid crystal panel.

The capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding fifteen paragraphsmay further comprise a laminating layer (e.g., PVB) and another glasssubstrate, wherein the laminating layer and the multi-layer transparentconductive coating may be provided between the glass substrates.

In the capacitive touch panel of any of the preceding sixteenparagraphs, the touch panel, including the electrodes and traces, mayhave a visible transmission of at least 70%.

The forgoing exemplary embodiments are intended to provide anunderstanding of the disclosure to one of ordinary skill in the art. Theforgoing description is not intended to limit the inventive conceptdescribed in this application, the scope of which is defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A capacitive touch panel, comprising: a glasssubstrate; a multi-layer transparent conductive coating supported by theglass substrate, the multi-layer transparent conductive coatingincluding at least one conductive layer comprising silver, a dielectriclayer located between at least the glass substrate and the conductivelayer comprising silver, and a dielectric layer comprising one or moreof: zirconium oxide, silicon nitride, and tin oxide located over theconductive layer comprising silver; a plurality of electrodes and aplurality of conductive traces, wherein the electrodes and/or theconductive traces include the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating; and a processor configured for determining touch position onthe touch panel; wherein the plurality of electrodes are formedsubstantially in a common plane and are supported by the glasssubstrate.
 2. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein theconductive layer comprising silver is doped.
 3. The capacitive touchpanel of claim 2, wherein the conductive layer comprising silver isdoped with from about 0.05 to 3.0% (wt. %) of one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd,Ti, and Al.
 4. The capacitive touch panel of claim 2, wherein theconductive layer comprising silver is doped with from about 0.1 to 2.0%(wt. %) of one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, and Al.
 5. The capacitivetouch panel of claim 2, wherein the conductive layer comprising silveris doped with from about 0.1 to 0.5% (wt. %) of one or more of Zn, Pt,Pd, Ti, and Al.
 6. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein thecoating further comprises a layer over and contacting the conductivelayer comprising silver which comprises Ni and/or Cr.
 7. The capacitivetouch panel of claim 1, wherein the transparent conductive coating has asheet resistance of less than or equal to about 40 ohms/square.
 8. Thecapacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the transparent conductivecoating has a sheet resistance of less than or equal to about 20ohms/square.
 9. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein thedielectric layer comprising one or more of: zirconium oxide, siliconnitride, and tin oxide comprises ZrO₂.
 10. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 1, wherein the dielectric layer comprising one or more ofzirconium oxide, silicon nitride, and tin oxide, comprises siliconnitride.
 11. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein thedielectric layer comprising one or more of zirconium oxide, siliconnitride, and tin oxide, comprises silicon nitride and further comprisesoxygen.
 12. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein thedielectric layer located between at least the glass substrate and theconductive layer comprising silver comprises an oxide of titanium. 13.The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layerlocated between at least the glass substrate and the conductive layercomprising silver comprises silicon nitride.
 14. The capacitive touchpanel of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer transparent conductive coatingfurther comprises a layer comprising Ni and Cr that contacts the layercomprising silver, wherein the layer comprising Ni and Cr is locatedbetween at least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprisingsilver.
 15. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein themulti-layer transparent conductive coating further comprises a layercomprising Ni, Cr, and Mo that contacts the layer comprising silver,wherein the layer comprising Ni, Cr and Mo is located between at leastthe glass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver.
 16. Thecapacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the multi-layer transparentconductive coating further comprises a semiconductor layer that contactsthe layer comprising silver, wherein the semiconductor layer is locatedbetween at least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprisingsilver.
 17. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein themulti-layer transparent conductive coating further comprises asubstantially amorphous dielectric layer that contacts the layercomprising silver, wherein the substantially amorphous dielectric layeris located between at least the glass substrate and the conductive layercomprising silver.
 18. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, whereinthe multi-layer transparent conductive coating further comprises adielectric layer comprising one or more of silicon oxide, siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride, and titanium oxide that contacts the layercomprising silver, wherein the dielectric layer comprising one or moreof silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and titaniumoxide is located between at least the glass substrate and the conductivelayer comprising silver.
 19. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1,wherein the touch panel is provided on a glass door.
 20. The capacitivetouch panel of claim 7, wherein the glass door is a shower door.
 21. Thecapacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the touch panel is configuredto control a shower functionality.
 22. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 1, wherein the glass substrate further supports a functional film.23. The capacitive touch panel of claim 22, wherein, unlike thetransparent conductive coating, the functional film is not patterned.24. The capacitive touch panel of claim 23, wherein the functional filmis one or more of an antiglare film, an anti-microbial film, and ananti-fingerprint film, and is located on an opposite side of the glasssubstrate than the transparent conductive coating.
 25. An assemblycomprising the capacitive touch panel of claim 1 coupled to a liquidcrystal panel.
 26. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, furthercomprising a laminating layer and another glass substrate, wherein thelaminating layer and the multi-layer transparent conductive coating areprovided between the glass substrates.
 27. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 26, wherein the laminating layer comprises PVB.
 28. The capacitivetouch panel of claim 1, wherein the touch panel, including theelectrodes and traces, has a visible transmission of at least 70%. 29.The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofelectrodes comprise transmit electrodes in a common plane, and whereinthe transmit electrodes include the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating.
 30. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein theplurality of electrodes comprise transmit and receive electrodesalternating in a common plane, and wherein the transmit electrodes andthe receive electrodes include the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating.
 31. A capacitive touch panel, comprising: a glass substrate; amulti-layer transparent conductive coating supported by the glasssubstrate, the multi-layer transparent conductive coating including atleast one conductive layer comprising silver, a dielectric layercomprising an oxide of titanium and/or silicon nitride located betweenat least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver,and a dielectric layer comprising one or more of: zirconium oxide,silicon nitride, and tin oxide located over the conductive layercomprising silver; a plurality of electrodes and a plurality ofconductive traces, wherein the electrodes and/or the conductive tracesinclude the multi-layer transparent conductive coating; a processorconfigured for determining touch position on the touch panel; whereinthe processor is in electrical communication with at least some of theelectrodes and the traces, for determining touch position on the touchpanel; and wherein the plurality of electrodes and the traces aresupported by the glass substrate.
 32. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 31, wherein the conductive layer comprising silver is doped. 33.The capacitive touch panel of claim 32, wherein the conductive layercomprising silver is doped with from about 0.05 to 3.0% (wt. %) of oneor more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, and Al.
 34. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 32, wherein the conductive layer comprising silver is doped withfrom about 0.1 to 2.0% (wt. %) of one or more of Zn, Pt, Pd, Ti, and Al.35. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein the coating furthercomprises a layer over and contacting the conductive layer comprisingsilver which comprises Ni and/or Cr.
 36. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 31, wherein the transparent conductive coating has a sheetresistance of less than or equal to about 40 ohms/square.
 37. Thecapacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein the dielectric layercomprising one or more of zirconium oxide, silicon nitride, and tinoxide, comprises silicon nitride.
 38. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 31, wherein the dielectric layer comprising one or more ofzirconium oxide, silicon nitride, and tin oxide, comprises siliconnitride and further comprises oxygen.
 39. The capacitive touch panel ofclaim 31, wherein the dielectric layer located between at least theglass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver comprisessilicon nitride.
 40. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein themulti-layer transparent conductive coating further comprises a layercomprising Ni and Cr that contacts the layer comprising silver, whereinthe layer comprising Ni and Cr is located between at least the glasssubstrate and the conductive layer comprising silver.
 41. The capacitivetouch panel of claim 31, wherein the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating further comprises a semiconductor layer that contacts the layercomprising silver, wherein the semiconductor layer is located between atleast the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver.42. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein the multi-layertransparent conductive coating further comprises a substantiallyamorphous dielectric layer that contacts the layer comprising silver,wherein the substantially amorphous dielectric layer is located betweenat least the glass substrate and the conductive layer comprising silver.43. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein the multi-layertransparent conductive coating further comprises a dielectric layercomprising one or more of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, and titanium oxide that contacts the layer comprisingsilver, wherein the dielectric layer comprising one or more of siliconoxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and titanium oxide islocated between at least the glass substrate and the conductive layercomprising silver.
 44. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, whereinthe plurality of electrodes comprise transmit electrodes, and whereinthe transmit electrodes include the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating.
 45. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein theplurality of electrodes comprise receive electrodes, and wherein thereceive electrodes include the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating.
 46. The capacitive touch panel of claim 31, wherein theplurality of electrodes comprise transmit and receive electrodesalternating in a common plane, and wherein the transmit electrodes andthe receive electrodes include the multi-layer transparent conductivecoating.
 47. The capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein the glasssubstrate is thermally tempered.